![]() He was the rare self-conscious artist in rock's early years and cultivated an image of mystery and power with his dark shades and impassive expression. Until the actress' death, which Spector maintained was an "accidental suicide," few residents even knew the mansion belonged to the reclusive producer, who spent his remaining years in a prison hospital east of Stockton.ĭecades before, Spector had been hailed as a visionary for channeling Wagnerian ambition into the three-minute song, creating the "Wall of Sound" that merged spirited vocal harmonies with lavish orchestral arrangements to produce such pop monuments as "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Be My Baby" and "He's a Rebel." His lawyer subsequently confirmed that date to The Associated Press.Ĭlarkson, star of "Barbarian Queen" and other B-movies, was found shot to death in the foyer of Spector's mansion in the hills overlooking Alhambra, a modest suburban town on the edge of Los Angeles. While most sources give Spector's birth date as 1940, it was listed as 1939 in court documents following his arrest. After a trial in 2009, he was sentenced to 19 years to life. Spector was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson in 2003 at his castle-like mansion on the edge of Los Angeles. He was 81.Ĭalifornia state prison officials said he died Saturday of natural causes at a hospital. There’s a much better actual documentary about Spector here.LOS ANGELES (AP) - Phil Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his "Wall of Sound" method and who later was convicted of murder, has died. And the video archival material of the Righteous Brothers, Ike and Tina Turner, the Ronettes is all beyond gorgeous. So do watch “Agony and the Ecstasy” to see and hear Spector - it’s probably the one and only time, whether accurate or not. The record was deemed similar to the Chiffons‘ hit “He’s So Fine,” which was not produced by Spector in the ’60s but certainly came from his world. There’s also a bit about recording “My Sweet Lord” with George Harrison but no mention of the plagiarism suit that haunted the hit. He takes credit for all of John Lennon’s post-Beatles career. There is a particularly fascinating segment about the Beatles in which he attacks Paul McCartney and George Martin. Spector, of course, is a megalomaniac, and it comes across clearly. (Were there musicians? Not in this story.) Further, Jayanti doesn’t include any reference to Ronnie Bennett and the Ronettes, who made Spector, and just a scant one to Darlene Love. Spector claims credit for all his Brill Building recordings, from “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” to “Spanish Harlem.” There is zero mention of the writers of the songs - Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. There is a lot of grandiosity at work too. ![]() Is this a film about Spector’s music, or his first murder trial, or what? Or all of it? And through it, poor Clarkson, a great girl by all accounts, is demonized. The film is long on odd, with full length versions of Spector’s produced music playing over disjointed videos of his first murder trial in 2007. Jayanti is well known for the Muhammad Ali film “When We Were Kings.” But in “Agony and Ecstasy,” he either was obsessed with Spector or just lazy. Why not? They never had hit records, so he may be wrong. Ha! He also compares himself to Galileo, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. Spector thinks Bennett’s problems are more egregious than his own. He doesn’t like him, and uses him as a refrain in the movie, referring to Bennett’s long ago drug problems. I’ve got some land to sell him in New Orleans. The director denies it, but really, who’s kidding who? At the Q&A after the screening, Jayanti said he believed there was “reasonable doubt” that Spector did not kill Lana Clarkson. It does look like Jayanti made some kind of deal with Spector to make him look good in exchange for exclusive interviews. I’ve rarely seen such bad filmmaking from a professional filmmaker. His film is, indeed, as incoherent as its subject. ![]() But I’ll have leave that up to lawyers since Jayanti professed no knowledge of the situation. ![]() And now it’s free on the Internet to underscore Spector’s ramblings. It’s unclear that the music was actually “cleared” for use since Beatles recordings are usually not allowed in movies. This part seems problematic since the documentary includes full length audio by the Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison and other artists whom Spector produced.
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